PokeFusion
by CoffeeFiendTM
Summary: Full Summary is first chapter. This story will have minor profanity and minor uncomfortable situations. This story is also based within reality rather than the Pokemon world. However, Pokemon are still involved! This story is based upon my characters playing a new Pokemon game that will either shape their lives in a good way or bad. Proceed if you are interested!
1. Full Summary and Author's Note

"sᴏ ғᴀʀ, ᴡʜᴏᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛʜɪs sʜɪᴛ ᴋɴᴇᴡ ᴏᴜʀ ᴀᴅᴅʀᴇss ᴀʟʀᴇᴀᴅʏ, ᴋɴᴇᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ɪɴsɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴏᴜʀ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇ, ᴋɴᴇᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇs ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ ɢʏᴍs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏʙᴀʙʟʏ ᴋɴᴏᴡs ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀsᴏɴs ᴡʜʏ! ʟᴇxɪᴇ, ғᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴡᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡ...sᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ ᴘsʏᴄʜᴏ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴏᴜʀ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏᴠᴇ. ʜᴏᴡ ᴇʟsᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇsᴇ 'ᴄᴏɪɴᴄɪᴅᴇɴᴄᴇs' ʙᴇ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ?"

Lexie and Dylan Worth are twins who get a mysterious box on their porch one summer day. In the box is a game system they've never seen before with a note saying that they were chosen to go on a Pokemon Quest that could change their lives forever. What they didn't know was that their very lives were at stake inside the game and out. If they don't complete the game and defeat Dr. H with other chosen players, he's going to set off a Virus around the world. And what's more, is that the targets are the players themselves.

* * *

As stated already, this story will contain minor violence and uncomfortable situations, along with minor profanity. Also, I've been getting warnings about a group going around leaving long unnecessary reviews on stories specifically related to Pokemon. If you are one of the ones who leave reviews, I would like to tell you right now that you will be wasting your time.

I want you to know – _before you continue_ _to review this story_ – that I don't give a flying flip about what you have to say. So, unless you want to waste your time, please, by all means, review it. Just know that I won't take it into consideration, _unless_ you're letting me know about misspellings. I don't care about your formatting and I don't care about whether you think Pokemon/Pokemon names should be capitalized or not. I truly don't.

Just enjoy the story :)

-Garra K.


	2. Chapter One – Registered

The sound of the doorbell ringing echoed throughout the home of the Worth family. The twins were in the living room trying to push along their boring summer day. Lexie was sitting cross-legged in the armchair, reading a book she had recently checked out from the local library while her twin brother, Dylan, screamed into his gaming headset at his friends while they played an RPG together online.

For the third time, the bell rang again, catching the attention of Ms. Worth who was cleaning up in the kitchen.

"Neither of you are going to answer that?" Her voice entered the living room, causing the twins to glance up at one another.

"You get it," Lexie muttered softly enough for her mother not to hear. Her brother glared at her and shook his head violently.

"I got it last time!" he said through clenched teeth, also trying to not let their mother hear them bicker.

Blue clashed with blue as they continued their silent battle. In the end, they knew what would happen. Neither of them would attempt to leave their comfortable spots, in turn causing their mother to enter the living room.

Another ring caused the scene to set into motion.

"Hey," Their mother came from the kitchen with a washcloth in hand, giving both children a harsh stare. "Do either of you hear the doorbell? Or have you gone deaf?" Lexie and Dylan glanced away from their mom. If they said nothing then punishment wouldn't be so bad. Their mom scoffed and rolled her eyes while heading to the door. "I have the two laziest kids in the universe."

The door opened and the sound of a man's voice caught the attention of the siblings. They gave one another one more glance before getting up and creeping towards the door to stand behind their mother.

A man in a white uniform with a check mark logo stood on their porch with a medium sized cardboard box at his feet. A clipboard was in one hand and a pen in the other. He gave their mother a small smile, his brown eyes friendly.

"May I help you?" Ms. Worth said, tossing the towel onto her shoulder and crossing her arms. Lexie and Dylan knew that that was the stance that meant their mom was all business. They both hated that pose. It always meant they were about to get grounded.

The man's face dropped a little before he looked down to read off of the clipboard.

"Um," he stuttered, "You have a package and I uh...need you to sign your signature." He was about to hand her the clipboard and pen before holding up her hand to stop him.

"Where exactly is this package coming from? Who is it addressed to? And why is it here because I never ordered anything," her gaze pierced through the man. He looked like he was going to start sweating not just from the summer heat but from the pressure she was giving him.

"It uh," he looked back at the clipboard, one finger dragging across the paper to find her answers. "There isn't a sender and um...it's addressed to a Lexie Worth and Dylan Worth."

At the sound of their names, she quickly turned around to look at them in anger. They both put our hands up to tell her to wait.

"Did you order something?" Lexie asked her brother who shook his head in response.

"Did you?" he sound like he was accusing her but Lexie didn't take it to heart. She knew that he was panicking just as much as he was.

"We didn't order anything!" Lexie said to her mom.

"Why are you saying it's for us?" Dylan asked the mailman who looked like he was just as terrified as them. "It can't be! What even is it?"

"The contents of it aren't listed but it's this address and it seems like the names are correct," he passed the clipboard to Ms. Worth and pointed out the evidence. "See, ma'am?"

Their mother's eyes skimmed carefully over the paper. She hummed and pursed her lips. She couldn't deny that the information was correct.

"Maybe it could be from the school," she mumbled to herself. "I guess I'm signing for it." The mailman looked relieved as he sighed and handed her his pen. She signed her signature with a flourish before handing the items back to the mailman who in turn gestured towards the box.

"H-have a great day," he said nervously before backing down the porch and quickly walking to his mail truck. The three of them watched as he started it up and took off down the street before turning the corner and out of sight.

"So..." Dylan said reaching for the box. "What do you think it could be?"

"And why is it addressed to us?" Lexie asked as they all went back inside where Dylan sat the box on the coffee table in the living room.

"Whatever it is, let's be careful opening it," Their mother said as she made her way to the kitchen. "I'll get the scissors."

"No need!" Dylan said with a bit of excitement as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small pocket knife.

"Dylan Harrison Worth," their mother's eyes were wide as she stared at her son. "Where on earth did you get a knife because I sure as hell didn't give it to you."

"Um," Dylan stared at his mother as he tried to form an answer in his head but it was too late. Her arms were already crossed. "Okay, I bought it."

"They let sixteen-year-olds buy knives now?" She asked incredulously.

"Well, eighteen-year-olds can buy cigarettes and guns, so..." The look she gave him told him that he wasn't helping himself. "Um...I'm just gonna open the box now." Lexie shook her head at her brother, not believing how idiotic he can be. The woman watched as he sliced the tape of the bare box smoothly down the middle and pulled the flaps open. Three sets of blue eyes peered into the box curiously.

"Uh...another box?"

The twins and mother stared down at a plain black box. On the front of it, a circle that was half white and half red was printed in the center.

"Pokeball?" Dylan said as he reached in and pulled out the black box.

"Po-what?" The mother asked, looking at her kids. She had no idea what the symbol on the box was.

"It's a Pokeball, I think," Dylan said. He turned the box over until he saw the seal. After peeling it away, he sat the box down and opened the lid.

Inside the box were two rectangular handheld devices along with two pairs of earbuds, two pairs of sunglasses, and a small contact lens size box.

"Whoa, cool," Dylan grabbed a device while Lexie reached for the sunglasses. Their mother grabbed the manual and started to flip through it.

"Welcome, trainers, to the exclusive, new...P...Pokemon game beta?" Their mother read aloud. "You have been chosen to go on a quest like no other. For the first time, you will experience the Pokemon world on a whole new level. These devices will test out the virtual reality future of Pokemon. We hope you enjoy this experience and would love to hear your feedback once you complete the game. Turn to page 4 for more instructions on how to use the devices." Their mother flipped through the manual and skimmed the page. "So, it's a gaming system."

"This is cool!" Lexie and Ms. Worth turned to Dylan who had already turned on the handheld device and was setting up the system. "What even is this thing?"

"It's called," Their mother looked at the manual again. "FusionX. The glasses are apparently what you use in order to feel like you're in the game."

"Really?" Lexie asked. She looked over the glasses and found a Bluetooth button. Out of impulse, she held the Bluetooth button down. A few moments passed before the screen inside the glasses lit up. "Whoa." She slipped the glasses onto her face. A 3D loading screen appeared. It almost looked like she could reach out and touch it!

"Pair with device 159FX?" Lexie read the words that popped up in the glasses. There was a yes and No option below the question. "How Do I accept?"

"Like this?" Dylan had the same message on his game system and pressed the Yes option. The screen on Dylan's game device and Lexie's glasses change to a darkened room with a blank door.

"What the heck?" Lexie said. Suddenly, her view in the glasses lurched sideways startling her to reach for the coffee table. "What was that?!"

"I think I moved you!" Dylan said as he moved the view of the room all over the game system screen. Lexie snatched the glasses off and blinked a few times.

"You made me really dizzy," She said before smiling. "But this is awesome! Try it!" She handed the glasses to him since they were already synced up to his game system before she grabbed the other. As she set up her device, their mother reached into the box and grabbed the contact lens case. She opened it and pulled out two small game cartridges with the same Pokeball symbol on the box.

"This is the game I guess," she said. She glanced at her kids who stared back at her with pleading eyes. "You guys want to play this? Isn't it a bit...weird that it was sent here?"

"I mean a little bit but..." Lexie didn't know what else to say other than the fact that she wanted to test their new game system out. The three were silent, the children waiting patiently for the judge to give her verdict.

"Well...it's summer..." She watched Dylan and Lexie's eyes widen in hope, "And you two have been bored for a while..." Dylan was clutching his game system so tightly he was afraid he would break it. "I guess you can give it a try." The children let out a cry of victory before their mother spoke over them. "But, you have to answer the door next time."

"Deal!" They said at the same time before taking the game cartridges and entering them into the devices. They smiled at the screens as a Pokeball appeared on the door. They both moved forward in the system.

**Would you like to play?**

**Yes or No**

They both clicked yes.

* * *

**A/N**:

Question:

How Many Pokémon games have you played?

I've played and collected 38

Until Next Update!


	3. Chapter Two – Logged In

Once their mother gave them permission to play the new game system they received in the mail, the siblings went upstairs into Lexie's room. Lexie took up her usual spot in her reading nook while her brother, Dylan, claimed the beanbag he had dragged from his room into hers. They were silent as they focused on the introduction of the game that they viewed through the reality glasses. The only sound they heard was the deep voice of the narrator through the earbuds that had come with the system.

"Welcome, trainer, to PokeFusion, the future of all Pokemon games," the view went from a darkened abyss and brightened until they were in the air. Lexie gasped as she looked around using the pad on the handheld device.

She was flying through the sky, gazing down upon a huge island filled with green trees and surrounded by an endless sparkling blue ocean. She tried to take in all of the island before landing on a beach of golden sand.

"Hello, trainer," her character moved on its own and her view was placed upon an animated man with salt and pepper hair, gray eyes, and a friendly smile with wrinkles in the corners. "Welcome to the Cestral region. My name is Dr. Douglas. I've specifically chosen you to challenge this new Pokemon game. Could you please tell me your name?"

A box appeared between Lexie and Dr. Douglas.

**Please say your name.**

"Lex," she said into the mini microphone attached to her earbuds. In the background, she could hear her brother doing the same thing.

**Is "Lex" Correct?**

"Yes," she replied. The box popped out of sight and Dr. Douglas smiled at her.

"Fantastic, Lex," she was slightly shocked that the automated voice system could even pronounce her name. "Now, before I can let you go any further into your adventure, you need a companion." With a wave of his hand, another box appeared, this time with three options; Fire, Water, and Grass. "Please choose a category."

"FIRE!" Dylan yelled into his mic, startling Lexie. She knew from his choice that in order to stay ahead of him she would have to choose water but she didn't want to let that deter her decision.

"Grass," she said softly so that her brother wouldn't hear. Dylan was surely going to challenge her at every chance he got just to prove how his type could beat hers. He was always competitive.

The box disappeared and another replaced it. This time it had the starter pokemon from every region in the respective categories they chose.

"Hmm," Dylan pulled one earbud out and lowered his glasses as he gazed at his sister across the room. She was staring straight ahead, her mouth moving with silent words as her thumb moved back and forth through her options. He wondered what category she chose. He was positive she heard him choose fire.

_What if she chose water just to have an advantage? _The thought made him go back to the category page but he hesitated with changing to grass. No matter what pokemon game he played, he always went with fire.

"Rowlet?" He heard his sister say softly. His concentration went from the game to his sister. He sat still, not making a sound as he hoped to hear her selection. After a few moments, it was clear she wasn't going to say anything else. He shrugged his shoulder and went back to the fire category.

_If she goes with water, I'll just train my pokemon and crush her, element advantage or not. _His cursor scrolled through the seven generations of fire starters he already met. And of course, without hesitation, he went for his favorite.

**Will Torchic be your final choice?**

"Yes," he said happily. The box glowed white and shrunk into a red and white sphere that dropped into Dr. Douglases hand.

"Torchic will be your first Pokemon companion. Take good care of it," he handed the Pokeball to Dylan's character with a nod. "Now to take a picture of your trainer card. Take your time on this. You'll want to look good."

A body length mirror appeared out of thin air in front of Dylan and Lexie's characters. They stared in awe at their characters default reflection. Both Lexie and Dylan did their best to make their character look like them. Long black hair for Lexie, short black hair for Dylan. Olive skin and blue eyes for both of them. Next were the clothes. While Dylan quickly chose a green tank top and black capris, Lexie took her time on her look. Eventually, she settled with a black sleeveless top and black jeans. She gave herself a cute leather bracelet before she completed her look with a pair of black boots.

**Is this your final look?**

"Yes," Dylan and Lexie said together. The mirror disappeared and Dr. Douglas pulled a camera from his white lab coat and aimed it at them. "Smile!" A flash temporarily blinded them and they had to blink to get their eyesight back to normal.

"That's the first thing I'm mentioning in the feedback," Lexie mumbled as she watched Dr. Douglas tap a few buttons on the camera. He clicked a button and a small white card came out of the camera. He handed Lexie her trainer card and Dylan his. Their character looked down at the card. On it was their names along with some kind of ID Number. Their characters posed with a smile while holding a Pokeball. Next to their pictures was the amount of Pokemon they had registered, the amount of time they had been playing, the amount of money they were starting out with, and the date.

**Put trainer card away?**

Lexie used the device to click the yes option and the play-through continued. Dr. Douglas nodded and gave her another smile.

"Now to tell you your purpose," he began to explain. "On your trainers card at the bottom are eight blank spaces. These spaces need to be filled in order to be worthy of obtaining the PokeFusion device." A picture of a necklace holding an opaque gem flashed onto the screen before fading away. "This item is the what you would call the main course of the adventure. Once you fill the spaces, it will appear around your neck. With it, you will be able to battle in a way you've never experienced. Instead of only using your Pokemon, you will also be able to join battles."

"What," Dylan said aloud. He was slightly confused but Dr. Douglas continued as if what he was saying made perfect sense.

"Before a battle, you will have the choice to choose which of your Pokemon you will want to fuse with in order to win." The smile on Dr. Douglas's face widened along with both Lexie and Dylan's eyes. "That's right, from this moment on, the player will be able to really experience what a battle is like. By using the PokeFusion Necklace, you and your chosen Pokemon will become one. You will gain speed, agility, power, and stats as you battle other fusions."

"...We're going to fuse with our Pokemon?" Dylan said before he started to bounce with excitement. "That's so awesome!"

"To fill in the spaces you simply need to travel to the eight gyms that are located in your vicinity. From my data that I've gathered using the FusionX device, you live at 385 Remington Road in Windsor, Connecticut. Is that correct?"

From the sound of their address, both Dylan and Lexie removed their glasses and earbuds and stared at one another.

"Sis..." Dylan said while glancing at the FusionX device resting on his lap. "I don't think I entered our address anywhere in this thing."

"Me either..." Lexie replied. "And it never gave me an option to set up a wifi connection...so there's no way it's GPS...is it?"

"I don't know," he replied while pursing his lips. "Let's just continue, maybe it was already programmed when it showed up in the mail."

"Yeah..." They put the glasses and earbuds back on but both had a somewhat negative feeling in their stomachs. They clicked the yes option, neither wanting to speak into the microphone anymore.

"Here is a map of the eight gyms that you will need to go to in order to beat them." Dr. Douglas handed them a scroll. Their character unrolled it to gaze upon a map of Windsor, Connecticut. On the maps were red dots, symbolizing the gyms. Both Lexie and Dylan noticed that they were six parks and two rivers marked on the map, well-known ones at that. "Once you get there, your device will connect to the area and your battle will begin. Once all battles are complete, a final destination will appear on the map where you will go to retrieve the PokeFusion Device."

"So, it's kind of like a scavenger hunt," Lexie said. Dylan agreed with her but he felt that something still wasn't right about the game. It had known their address without input or wifi and now it was giving them specific spots that they had to go to in order to complete the game. There was no way it was randomized or else how would the device know to connect to the area once they arrived. There wasn't a mistake about it, he and his sister were specifically chosen possibly because of where they lived. Which meant that any other player they meet in the game would be in their area too!

_But who would send this to us? Why choose us out of thousands of other kids in Windsor?_

"To make sure your device will activate the gym in your world, simply travel to it in this world. Once both players are in the correct positions, the battle will start. Catch Pokemon along the way, meet other players, and become the first time ever master of the Cestral Region!"

Without warning, the screen blacked out with Dr. Douglases smile being the last thing they saw. Upbeat heroic music began to pour out of the earbuds and the screen flashed with bright colors and swirls before settling on the PokeFusion title floating in the air. Underneath it was a 'start game' option and an 'Exit' option.

Lexie took off her glasses to already see Dylan staring down at his screen with a concentrated look on his face. She had never seen her brother look so focused and...nervous?

"What do you think, Dylan?" Lexie asked as she swung slowly in her reading nook. The information about the game had also struck her as odd and she wasn't sure she wanted to continue with the game or not.

"Let's talk to mom about it," Dylan said as he stood up with the FusionX in his hand. "She's always right anyway."

Lexie nodded her head in agreement before they both exited her room and headed downstairs to bring their case up to the judge.

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

Which starter would you have chosen if given the option to choose through seven generations?

I would have picked Torchic because I love fire and fighting types (per Blaziken).

Until the next update!


	4. Chapter Three – Parental Controls

Dylan and Lexie found their mother in the living room, watching the latest reruns of 'Criminals Reformed'. She slowly ate the popcorn she made for the show and shook her head in disbelief at the man on the television screen.

"How can someone kidnap children and perform experiments on them? Just sick," she stuffed more popcorn into her mouth before noticing her kids standing off to the side of the couch, waiting for her attention. "Yes?"

"We need to tell you something about this game," Dylan handed the FusionX to his mother, who looked at him in confusion in return. She sat the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and paused the TV Screen on the reformed criminal holding up a degree in software and design.

"What's wrong with it?" She looked it over, trying to find any indication that it was defective. "Did it break already?"

"No, it's not that..." Lexie sat next to her mother and Dylan perched himself on the arm of the couch. "I don't exactly know how to explain it." Dylan held out his hand for the FusionX, which his mother gave.

"So, normally in any game, they start you off with an introduction that's already programmed into the system. No matter who the game goes to, the introduction is the same. It's doesn't change, right?" He paused to make sure his mother was following along. She nodded for him to continue. "Well...the introduction for this game was a bit different and...weird."

"What do you mean?" Ms. Worth looked at their nervous expressions and started to grow a concern of her own even though she still had no idea what was wrong.

"It knew our address..." Lexie said. "We didn't connect to the Wi-Fi and it never asked us where we lived when we set it up...but the introduction to the game...the player who greeted us, he said our address as if he already knew where we lived."

"What?!" She grabbed the FusionX again and looked at the black screen that had the options on it.

"Tell me exactly what the game said," she said with a frown. Ms. Worth didn't really like technology very much. She thought it was very invasive and dangerous and from what her children were telling her, this game was highly intrusive.

Dylan and Lexie took turns telling her what the game was about and how to play it. One twin would stop and the other would pick up where the story left off. By the time they finished explaining, their mother was shaking her head.

"So, in order to complete the game, you need to travel throughout Windsor?!" her frown seemed permanent and from the tone of her voice, she was already deciding that the FusionX and the merchandise that came with it needed to be returned. "I don't like the sound of this. I'm going to find out who sent this and find a way to return it. In the meantime, pack it all up. I'm going to keep it until I find the sender."

The twins didn't argue. They knew once their mom decided on something, she was never going to change her mind. As they made their way upstairs, Dylan started to get a feeling of regret. They both entered Lexie's room and began picking up the glasses and earbuds.

"Lexie," Dylan started. He turned to his sister who seemed to not hear him as she stared down at her FusionX with a small frown. "Lexie?"

"I kind of...don't want to give it up..." Lexie mumbled while giving a guilty look to her brother. "Is that bad? I mean...it's just an address...maybe we overreacted," Dylan knew exactly how his sister was feeling. Looking past the address incident, the game sounded...fun! Running around Windsor and battling as if they were really trainers sounded tempting to both of them. Plus, it was summer! They had nothing else to do but sit inside all day and do the same things they've been doing to kept themselves entertained. All of their friends were either gone on vacation or too busy to hang out with them, so all they had was each other.

"I feel the same way but...you heard what mom said," Dylan replied, giving his glasses a look. The screen with the 'continue' option was still up, drawing his attention and tempting his imagination. "Maybe...there could be a way to play it..."

"How?" Lexie asked. "Mom is probably going to lock it all up."

"Not if we make it seem like we aren't interested," Dylan smiled as the idea formed in his head and exited through his mouth. "If we pretend to not care that she's sending it back, she won't have an excuse to hide it from us. It'll be like forgotten junk. And when she goes to work, we'll just sneak downstairs and play until she gets off."

"I guess that could work...And she does work every night so..." Lexie looked at her FusionX once more before closing it. "Let's do it."

They nodded and made their way back downstairs with the gear. Their mother was already flipping through the manual to try and find a number to call or a name to look up.

"Here you go, mom," Lexie said as she handed the devices to her mother. "Do you want help finding a name or something?" Lexie knew that offering help to her mother would instantly keep her off the radar for a while. Dylan shot his sister a glare for stealing the idea so she wouldn't look suspicious.

"That's sweet of you, honey," her mother replied without looking up from the manual. "Could you search online for anything?"

"Sure thing," Lexie replied before hurrying upstairs to look helpful.

"I'll start packing up this stuff," Dylan said as he turned off the devices and put them all in the plastic they came out of. After everything was positioned as it came, he sealed the box with a bit of tape he found under the coffee table. Once he was done, he picked up the box. "Want me to put this somewhere?"

"Just set it by the front door, sweetie," his mother replied to his delight. He placed it by the door like she instructed and sat next to her on the couch, looking over her shoulder in mild interest at the manual they kept out.

"It kind of freaked us out how it knew our address," he said casually. His mother glanced at him and shook her head.

"It's pretty weird that it did if what you're saying about not giving it that information is true. It doesn't say anything about addresses in here," she gestured to the manual. "I'm glad you told me about it right away. Something bad could have happened."

A guilty feeling overtook Dylan once again. Maybe he should just convince Lexie to give up on the game. There were plenty of other consoles to play out there.

_But not like this one. It seems really legit._

_But I hate tricking mom like this._

_Then again, she would never find out we were playing it._

_But if she did find out..._

A small shiver ran through his body at the thought of how much trouble they would be in if their mom found out they planned on playing the game behind her back. If staying in the house of their own free will was boring, their mother would surely bore them to death!

_She'll probably send us to grandmas for the summer._ Their mother knew the kids hated going to stay with their grandmother out in the country. The last time they went, they came back with blisters on their hands and mosquito bites all over their bodies. It was the worst summer of their lives.

_We just have to be careful, _once the thought was in his head, he felt better with going along with the plan. What their mother wouldn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"I'll go help Lexie find anything on this stuff," he said. His mother hummed in agreement and continued to read the manual page by page. He took his escape upstairs and found his sister at her desk actually researching the game.

"Find anything yet?" He asked, causing her to jump in shock. "Sorry."

"Not yet," she used her mouse to click back and forth between web pages but on each one there didn't seem to be anything on the FusionX or the PokeFusion game. "I even posted about it on Stumblr just in case anyone will reply with any information." Dylan nodded and plopped himself on her bed. He stared up at the ceiling, listening to the clicks of the mouse and the tapping on the keyboard.

"...Washington Park..." Lexie suddenly said. Dylan sat up quickly and looked at her computer screen but the browser was closed and she was just staring at the background picture of her computer.

"What?" Dylan asked, confused as to why his sister spouted out one of the parks nearby.

"Washington Park was the closest gym on the map..." She looked at her brother and gave a small shrug. "Want to go tonight?"

Dylan almost couldn't believe his sister was actually suggesting they leave the house tonight. Lexie had never really been one to break the rules but when she was involved in something, she wouldn't back out.

"Yeah..." Dylan whispered in shock. "Tonight..."

The twins stared at one another, the excitement of what they were about to do making the adrenaline in their bodies speed up.

Their summer had finally started...

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

What would need to happen in order for you to play the game?

I would need someone devoted to playing with me. However, I wouldn't play on my own.

Until the next update!


	5. Chapter Four – Route One

"You two know the rules," Ms. Worth said as she picked up her purse and car keys. She fluffed her black hair in the doorway mirror and checked her makeup before turning to her children. "Make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lexie said while scrolling on her phone to look uninterested. Dylan knew how good his sister was at manipulating people into thinking she was someone she wasn't. Others saw her as this calm and collected person, sometimes shy, but he knew his twin all too well. She could be sneaky and at times, very cunning. She was a bunny on the outside and fox within. He always loved that about her. It made her fun to hang out with even though they had different interests.

"We'll make sure to keep looking for the person who sent this weird junk too," Dylan said. He gave the box by the door a light kick for good measure. His mother nodded in approval before straightening her dark blue dress suit and opening the door.

"Be good, okay?" Dylan and Lexie waved their mother goodbye as she backed out of the driveway and took off down the street. As soon as she turned the corner, they stood in the doorway for a little while longer before closing it, locking it, and opening the box in hunger.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Lexie said with a smile as she turned on the FusionX and dawned the glasses. She put one earbud in her ear so that she could hear her brother, who also prepared his game system.

"It was your idea," he replied. He also had a huge smile on his face. Just like earlier, their hearts were racing with adrenaline. The excitement of the adventure they were about to have was sending them into overdrive. On their game screens, the options popped up again.

**Game Start**

**Exit**

With a final glance at each other, they both chose the start option.

"Let your adventure begin," Dr. Douglas' voice echoed out of their earbuds. The screen turned black before their characters blinked open their eyes. They both breathed in awe as they looked around the room they were in.

Pokedolls littered a colorful rug in the center. Books on Pokemon and regions lined the shelves of a bookcase against one of the walls. Their beds were made with Pokemon themed comforters; Fire-types for Dylan, and Grass-types for Lexie. They spun the view for their characters until they jumped in shock when their gaze landed on each other.

"You're in my room?" Lexie asked, giving her brothers character a once over. She hummed in approval until she spotted that he had a lip ring and ear piercings. "You don't even have any piercings!"

"It's a game, loser. I can have whatever I want," Dylan replied. Lexie watched with wide eyes as his character mouthed everything that he said as if he were actually talking through the character.

"Wait...can we talk to each other through the game?" Lexie asked. She lowered her glasses and watched Dylan do the same as he shrugged in reply.

"Go to the kitchen and say something," he said. Lexie rolled her eyes and made her way into the dark kitchen. She put her glasses back on and the other earbud in her ear.

"Hello?" she spoke softly.

"Yup, I can hear you," Dylan's character replied. Lexie smiled at how real it all seemed. It was almost like she could reach forward and touch things in the room. "Do we start moving?" She watched as his character turned and headed for the bedroom door. In reality, she made her way back to the living room and sat on the couch. He joined her and together, they left the bedroom in the game.

The screen changed to a kitchen and living room that creepily resembled the ones in real life. Lexie frowned at the similarity but Dylan was too excited to even notice. His character made a beeline for the door and she quickly followed after him. Once outside, they both took in the fully gardened front yard, the neighbors blue house, the old shed across the street, and the night sky. A message box popped up in front of both of them.

**Press X to open your bag**

**Press Y to summon a Pokemon**

**Hold B to run**

**Press A to interact**

They both pressed the A button on their devices to make the box disappear before Lexie removed her glasses and walked to the window. Dylan knew exactly what she was doing before she even said anything. The creator of the game had pretty much mapped out their exact location and the details of the surrounding area they lived. That's when they both were able to confirm one thing.

These devices really were meant for them and them only.

"Aren't you getting a weird feeling about this?" Lexie said as she stared at the shed across the street. The game had even gotten the colors and the crooked door correct. "Someone...put our location in a game. They literally programmed our lives into a video game!" She faced her brother who was staring at the device in his hands.

She was right. It was very strange that their reality had become a video game. However, they were still both conflicted. The fact that someone took the time to program their lives into this game had scared but also intrigued them both.

"Dr. Douglas said that in order to beat the gym we have to be in the right location in the game and out..." Dylan looked at his sister and she saw the look she hoped wasn't reflecting his. "Let's bring protection; like knives or something. I'll take my pocket knife and you can bring a kitchen knife or a hammer...I...I kind of want to see where this is going. Don't you kind of want to see too?"

"You know I do Dylan but..." she glanced out the window, taking in the silent night and the street lamps that were spaced out in a perfect line. They were meant to make the street safer but to Lexie, it made it look more eerie and dangerous.

"We can do it. We'll be together," he stood up and walked over to his sister, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It'll be quick. Look right here," he opened the map on his device and pointed to Washington Park. "We've been to this park ever since we were like what, five? It was like a giant playpen for us. We can be there and back in under 30 minutes."

"I guess..." Lexie looked down at her device and opened the map. She stared at the point that was pinned to Washington Park. They'd been there at least more than a thousand times. It wasn't too far from their home either. A jog to the end of their street, a right, a very long left, and it was diagonally in front of them. A spark of what she was feeling when she suggested they go rose in her and he gave a small smile to her brother. "Alright, let's go."

They both prepared themselves.

Jackets? Check.

Flashlights? Check.

Weapons? Definite check.

House key? Check.

Water and snacks? Double check.

And finally, the devices...check.

"Ready?" Dylan asked while giving Lexie a smile. He was pumped once again. They were really about to go on a Pokemon adventure. Lexie nodded in return and after shutting off all the lights in the house, they exited.

"All right, let's go," Lexie said as she started heading towards the end of the street. Dylan was right behind her, glasses on his face as he walked. The game was mapped out so perfectly he wasn't the slightest bit nervous as he walked.

As soon as they turned the corner, the FusionX in Lexie's hand beeped. The screen flashed white as the battle music came on. She watched as a patch of grass rustled in the game before a long and thin Pokemon that looked like a ferret popped out. The Pokemon was called Furret and it looked angry. Her Pokemon, Rowlet, appeared on the opposite side and four options came up on the screen. She could choose between Fight, Bag, Pokemon, or Run.

"Whoa, fight it!" Dylan said as he stared at her screen. However, before she could choose the option, a tutorial stopped her.

"This is your first foreign pokemon encounter," Dr. Douglases voice said through her earbud. "Let's try catching it. Click the 'bag' button," she followed his instructions until her character threw a Pokeball. The Furret disappeared into the ball and she and Dylan watched as it wiggled three times before the ball burst open and the Furret ran away. "Well, you'll have better luck next time now that you have the concept down," and just as it happened, the battle scene disappeared and she was back to looking at the sidewalk in the game as it was in real life.

"This is going to be so much fun," Dylan said as he put his glasses back on and continued on their adventure.

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

What four main items would you bring with you on your first real life Pokemon adventure excluding the device itself?

I'd have a pocket knife, water, my cell phone, and running shoes.

Until the next update!


	6. Chapter Five – Gym One

During their walk, Lexie couldn't help but get nervous every time a car passed them in the night. What if their mother forgot something? What if she saw them walking down the dark street playing video games? What if a neighbor saw them and decided to contact her? They were sure to be grounded for life. Dylan, on the other hand, was having so much fun he didn't seem to be worried about anything. His glasses were on his face along with a smile as he found Pokemon in bushes or drains and battled them. Seeing him caused Lexie to calm down a bit and also try to enjoy the game as they followed the map to the gym location.

After multiple Pokemon ambushes, three item finds, and a long walk down a road dimly lit with streetlights, the twins spotted the sign for the park that had been there since before they were born. The two crossed the street, careful to look both ways, before looking around for something that would indicate that there was a gym nearby.

"Now what do we do?" Dylan was about to remove his glasses before a message appeared in front of his eyes.

**Location Registered**

**Washington Park**

The same message appeared on Lexie's screen but for some reason, the achievement didn't make her feel good. She still felt like there was something off about the game by how it knew their location. The assumption that they were specifically chosen only came more true.

"It knew we made it here," Dylan commented. They both pressed the A button causing the message to disappear and another to appear in its place.

**Move player into position**

A location pin appeared a few steps away from Lexie's player. She and Dylan moved their characters to the pin and watched it disappear. Suddenly, a bright spotlight turned on, illuminating the night sky above. However, this wasn't in the game.

It was coming from further into the park.

"Um...is that for us?" Lexie was starting to get more nervous as she gazed up at the light. If anyone passed by in their cars and saw it, she wondered if they would think it was suspicious. Dylan had gotten the same feeling as his sister but he was also being pulled into the game more and more.

"If it is then the creator of this game is definitely going all out with this new Pokemon experience," he kept his glasses off and took hold of his sister's hand. "Come on, we're together so it'll be okay."

Lexie hesitated. She knew she was the one who suggested they go against their mothers' words and venture out but this wasn't what she had in mind. However, another look at Dylan made her nod. He seemed to be confident enough for both of them.

_What could go wrong?_ With one more look around, they headed down the dark path of the park, heading for the spotlight still pointing up at the sky. After taking cautious steps and making sure they weren't being followed, they came to the center of the park.

The local soccer field.

Just as they thought, a giant construction light was in the middle of it, as bright as a star. Standing in front of it was the silhouette of someone in a dress with curly hair. The person raised their hands and let out a booming voice.

"Welcome trainers to the Golden Feather Gym!" Suddenly, the spotlight was cut out so that Dylan and Lexie could finally see who was speaking. She was a dark-skinned woman with black hair laced with golden feathers. A black cocktail dress hugged her body. She gave them a gold lipped smile, brown eyes alight with laughter. In her hand was a FusionX device that she pressed a button on. Both Dylan and Lexie's devices chimed with the same notification.

**Gym Leader Mel Has Appeared**

**Battle**

"What in the world is going on?" Lexie said as she stared from her screen to the woman clearly waiting for them to battle her. Dylan knew he was thinking the same as his sister.

Why was there an actual person standing in the middle of the Washington Park soccer field with a spotlight and a video game?

At night.

"I'm not going to lie, sis," Dylan kept his eyes on the gym leader who still had a smile on her face, FusionX at her side. "I'm a bit uncomfortable about this."

"Well, are you going to challenge me or go home?" Their attention zeroed in on Gym Leader Mel. Even though she may have been standing there all day, the woman showed no sign of impatience. All she radiated was pure determination.

The woman walked towards them but stopped midway. Dylan and Lexie then noticed the tiny box placed a few feet away from them. Mel leaned down and pressed a button that glowed green. The twins breathed in awe as an opaque holographic screen appeared in the air and flattened horizontally. Once again, their FusionX devices chimed with a message.

**Connect to Battle Board?**

**Yes or No**

Even though they had no idea what that meant, Dylan and Lexie pressed the Yes option. The glowing holographic field in front of them flashed white and in the air, they saw Dylan's avatar with Torchic by his side facing the gym leader whose avatar was also on the board. In front of her was a small plump gray bird with a black and orange beak.

A level 6 Starly.

**Dylan has accepted Gym Leader Mel's challenge!**

"Did you accept it?" Dylan looked at Lexie who was sure she pressed the Battle icon. However, when she looked at her screen she saw that there was a message that said she was waiting to battle the gym leader.

"I guess you accepted it faster than me," she commented with a shrug. Dylan's level 7 Torchic let out a high pitched screech that seemed to echo across the night as a timer in front of them began to count. Dylan watched his option screen appear in the hologram and shook his head at how amazing the technology was. Lexie watched on in awe as her brother made the first move.

His Torchic fluffed its feathers before burping out fire bullets at the Starly. Gym Leader Mel's Pokemon lost a quarter of health and flapped its wings in anger. Dylan's option board disappeared and Gym Leader Mel's replaced it. The twins watched as she chose the fight option and made her Starly use quick attack on Torchic. It raced across the board and tackled Torchic who's health also went down by a quarter.

The fight between them didn't last long. Torchic was able to land the final blow before Starly's health disappeared. A message on how Torchic leveled up briefly showed before Dylan continued his battle. Gym Leader Mel returned her pokemon only to bring out her last one. A small reddish-orange and gray bird appeared from its Pokeball. It let out a screech from its sharp, black beak; black eyes glaring at Torchic.

It was a level 8 Fletchinder.

Dylan's options screen appeared again but instead of choosing Ember like Lexie thought he would, he chose instead to use scratch. It did minimal damage to the enemy pokemon.

"Why didn't you use your fire attack? Isn't it stronger?" Lexie asked. Her brother watched with a frown as the Fletchinder used quick attack on his Torchic. Its health was low and with no other choice, Dylan had to use one of the potions he found.

"That Pokemon is also a fire type," he replied as he quickly healed his pokemon. To his surprise, his attack got to go first and Torchic used scratch again. It was a critical hit! Fletchinder had one more hit left before he won; that is as long as the gym leader didn't heal it. "Meaning that fire will do little to no damage at all on it. Luckily for me, it's the same. That's why we're both avoiding fire attacks."

The Fletchinder used quick attack again and too Dylan and Lexie's dismay, the health meter for Torchic went down so fast they thought it would faint. It stopped at the very edge, a warning beep filling Dylan's ear. He wasn't worried though. This last hit was his.

He took the risk and had Torchic use scratch. It landed the hit perfectly and Dylan watched with joy as the Fletchinder fainted. It disappeared back into its ball as the players on the board glowed white before flashing out of sight. The holograph disappeared and left the real-life Gym Leader and twins staring at one another.

"Congratulations!" Mel walked over to them and hed out her hand to shake with Dylan's. "You only have to do one more thing in order for me to confirm your win."

"What is it?" Dylan asked. The twins watched as the Gym Leader reached into her dress pocket and pull out a small container. She opened it to reveal three round spots; in two of them were macaroons. The last spot was empty.

"Have a cookie!" Mel smiled at the confused looks on Lexie and Dylan's faces. Just as Dylan reached for the snack, Lexie grabbed his hand. This entire set up was weird to her and Dylan could see that from her expression.

"Can we ask why you're standing in the middle of a park with a giant spotlight and macaroons...at night?" Lexie asked. However, Mel seemed to know this question was coming. She chuckled and waved her FusionX device.

"Gym leaders operate their gyms at different times of the day or night," she explained. "As you can see, I'm a real person, so of course I have things to do during the day. But at night, I come here and wait for about four hours to see if any trainers want to challenge my gym. The macaroons are just a little snack to give to a trainer who wins. I only carry three though so once they're all gone, I pack up, and close my gym early. The times for each gym are listed in the manual that comes with the devices, along with the possible rewards. One of my rewards are macaroons. Didn't you read it?"

"Um...yeah, we just forgot..." Lexie said as she dropped her brother's hand. She watched him happily munch on the sweet goodie as the Gym Leader pressed a button on her device. Dylan's chimed with the notification.

**Congratulations Player Dylan!**

**You've Earned the ****Golden Feather Badge!**

"Awesome!" Dylan saw his trainer's card appear. One of the spots filled in with black and his cash went up by 2000 PokeBills. "Well, it's your turn, Lex."

"Are you ready?" Gym Leader Mel gestured to the macaroon. "I still have one left." Lexie wasn't sure how she was going to do, but she nodded. The quicker she finished the battle, the faster they could get back home.

It lasted longer then she thought.

Even though Lex knew the moves of Mel's pokemon, they still had a type advantage over her Rowlet. She lost twice before by some miracle and a level up, she beat the gym leader who in return offered the last macaroon she had.

"Thanks for letting me close early," Mel said as she picked up the holograph device. "I hope you have fun playing the game."

"Um, do you by any chance know how it got to us?" Dylan asked. They saw the gym leader tense a bit before shrugging.

"The one who created it choose random players. That's about all I know," she replied as she pressed a button on the spotlight. With a loud mechanical hum, it began to break down and fold until it was the size of a suitcase; wheels and all. She attached the holograph device to the front of it before pulling out a handle. "I have to go now. You kids also better get home too! Bye bye!" Before Lexie and Dylan could ask any more questions, Mel had already had her back turned and was heading in the opposite direction that had come.

"Dylan,"

"I know, Lexie..." he knew his sister had a lot to say. He also had a million questions about Mel running through his head but he didn't want to dwell on it. At least, not out here. "Let's go home and talk about it."

Together, they started on the path they came. The moon was now high in the sky, but its light did little to no help with illuminating their path. Lexie kept close to her brother, looking nervously at the dark trees that surrounded them. She was about to speak when suddenly, she saw a shadow move behind a tree. Dylan felt his arm almost pop when his sister grabbed it and stopped walking.

"Lexie wha–"

"Someone's there," Lexie whispered cutting him off. He followed her gaze and stared into the shadows. He wasn't sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him or his sister just being paranoid, but he did, in fact, see a shadow slowly move further behind a tree. His heart jumped and neither twin moved as they stared at the tree. Slowly, he reached his hand into his backpack and pulled out one of the flashlights they packed.

"Hello..." they heard a whisper from the forest. Lexie's legs almost gave out and it took all of Dylan's strength to keep her from sinking to her knees. A shiver went through him as the shadow moved from behind the tree. With a flick of his thumb, he turned the flashlight on to illuminate a girl about the size of Lexie.

Twigs and grass rustled as the girl stepped onto the path with them, shielding her eyes against the bright light. Lexie and Dylan stared at the light skinned girl shrouded in a black hoodie. She reached up and pulled the hood down, revealing long brown hair and an eyebrow piercing.

"That's really bright," she whispered before clearing her throat. Dylan pointed the light at the ground instead of her face. "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Oh no, you didn't," Dylan lied as he helped his sister stand up straight. Lexie took in the girl's red lipstick and dark eyeshadow. She looked like she belonged to a group of really popular guys and girls, not creeping around the woods.

"I saw you both battle Gym Leader Mel," she said softly before pulling out a FusionX device from her hoodie. "My name is Cassie. I'm also a player."

Lexie and Dylan were a bit taken aback at how this random girl from the forest also had a gaming device. And then it clicked.

The missing macaroon.

"You also won against her, didn't you?" Lexie asked to which Cassie replied with a nod. "That's crazy...did the game appear out of nowhere for you too then?"

"What, no," Dylan and Lexie were confused but let her speak. "My father brought this to me from his job. He said it belonged to a friend who didn't want it anymore."

"Ours was dropped off by the local mailman," Dylan said to which Lexie glared at him. "Um, do you live around here?" Cassie shook her head and pointed in a seemingly random direction.

"I live on the other side of Windsor,"

"Oh, so this isn't your first gym?"

"It is actually..." Lexie and Dylan glanced at one another before looking at Cassie, who was shuffling her foot against the dirt path.

"So...you traveled this far just to beat this gym first?" Dylan asked. Cassie nodded. "Can I ask why?"

"Just wanted a change of scenery...besides, the gyms difficulty depends on how many badges you already have, so it doesn't matter what order you battle them," she looked down at her device and clicked a few buttons. Both Dylan and Lexie's FusionX's chimed and they saw that they had a different notification then before.

**Accept Player Cassie's Friend Request?**

**Yes or No**

Lexie glanced at her brother, who quickly accepted Cassie's friend request. She turned her gaze to the girl, who was staring at her expectedly.

_What could go wrong?_

Lexie accepted Cassie's request.

Another player to add to the game.

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

Would you have eaten the reward that you earned if it were your most favorite snack?

Honestly, it would depend on the time of day for me. If it were night, then no, I wouldn't take anything from a stranger. However, if it were the middle of the day and the park were filled, then probably.

Until the next update!


	7. Chapter Six – Decisions

Cassie walked with Dylan and Lexie back to the main road before she parted ways with them to head to the bus stop. The twins offered to wait with her since it was so late and she was alone, but she insisted on going by herself, saying that she traveled the city during the night all the time. With a final wave, they both watched Cassie walk the opposite way of their home before she turned on another street and disappeared from sight.

"Well...this was interesting..." Lexie commented as they began to head home. Neither had decided to put the glasses back on since they first wanted to talk about what happened at Washington Park. "What did you think about all of this?"

"I think..." Dylan started before looking down at his game. He watched his player walk down the same road he walked, seeing Pokemon appear out of the darkness but not bothering to make an encounter with them. "That this game has its pros...and some major cons..."

"Like leaving us vulnerable," Lexie suggested.

"And going out at night alone," Dylan added.

"Having more information than we offered."

"Eating food from people we don't know."

"...Mom would kill us if she found out we did this," Lexie commented as they turned back onto their street.

"I'd rather not think about that," Dylan grimaced and rubbed his arm for comfort. "She just bought a new knife set after all." Lexie giggled at her brothers comment before glancing down at her game. She clicked a few buttons and opened her trainers card, taking in the blackened spot set apart from the seven blank ones.

"So...what about the other gyms?" Lexie asked. They finally made it to the front of their door and Dylan took out the keys to unlock it. They both walked inside, shutting the door firmly before locking it. With a sigh, they sank onto the couch, not bothering to turn on any lights.

"I don't know..." The glow of the devices illuminated the room a bit as Dylan opened the map and scanned over the remaining seven gyms. "The next closest gym is next to Farmington River, right off the River trail. We'd have to catch a bus to Mechanic Street and walk the rest of the way there." He sighed and leaned his head back against the couch cushion. "I don't know if I want to travel that far at night...especially since that trail doesn't have many lights. We would practically be asking to get robbed or kidnapped."

Lexie hummed in agreement before she remembered what gym leader Mel had told her. She sat her device down and walked over to the box it all came in. Dylan watched as she squatted and opened it, shifting through it and muttering in annoyance.

"What are you looking for?" Dylan asked, walking over to look over his sisters shoulder.

"The manual," Lexie replied before standing with a frown. "Mel said that the times for the gyms are listed in the manual. If the gym at Farmington River is during the day, we should be good to go, right?"

"Well, yeah, but you forgot something," Dylan commented as his sister began to look around the living room, checking under the coffee table and magazines. "Mom is here during the day."

"I know, but maybe she'll-aha!" Lexie lifted the manual in triumph before flipping through the pages. "Maybe she'll be asleep during the gym times. We both know she takes her sleeping pills at 8am sharp."

"Yeah, but it would be a huge coincidence if the time of her sleep lined up with the gym, don't you think?" Dylan sat back on the couch and stared at the game, trying to think of a way for them continue playing without their mother finding out.

"...Or maybe...it doesn't have to be a coincidence at all..." Lexie muttered. She frowned at the page with the Farmington Gym displayed on it and sat next to Dylan so that he could also see. They both read about the gym leader, Charles, and the Pokemon and rewards there would be, but what really caught their attention...was the time the gym would be open.

8am to 12pm...

It gave them just enough time to make it there and back before their mother woke up.

"All right," Dylan leaned forward, rubbing his hands over his face. "We really need to decide right now, sis."

"Decide what?" Lexie closed the manual, already thinking about what her brother was about to say next.

"Whether we should continue with this game or not," he pointed to the device, his eyebrows lifted. "So far, whoever made this shit knew our address already, knew what the inside of our house looked like, knew what times to place these gyms, _and_ probably knows the reasons why! Lexie," Dylan took a deep breath, staring intently at his sister. "For all we know...some crazy psycho could be watching our every move. How else would all of these 'coincidences' be happening?"

"I know, I feel the same way," Lexie and Dylan both stared at their devices, their characters swaying back and forth in place, waiting for a command. "I just...I just think that this game was just..._meant_ for us to play it, you know?"

"I do know," Dylan sighed and ruffled his hair aggressively. "I'm so conflicted. I _know _we need to pack this up and just leave it be but...it's like it's drawing me in."

"So...what do you want to do?" Lexie watched as her brother thought hard about it all. He was practically burning a hole through the device as he clasped his hands together.

"If we keep a straight head...and stay cautious...and _together_...I think it'll be okay..." Dylan sighed and sat up, his heart racing in nervousness at what he was saying. "We just need to pay attention to our surroundings...we'll keep weapons on us at all times."

"Cell phones fully charged too," Lexie added to which Dylan nodded. "We should probably keep the use of the glasses and headphones to a minimum too."

"I agree," Dylan said as he saved his game and closed it. Lexie put down the manual and did the same with her device. "We should put them back in the box for now. Mom may check to see if they're still there when she gets back." Lexie handed her device to Dylan and he placed both back int he box, making sure they looked as if they were never disturbed. He also placed the glasses back and wrapped the headphones just like how they first arrived. Lexie took out her phone and took a photo of every gym page before she placed the manual back where she found it, covering up any evidence that she looked through it.

Dylan checked to make sure the doors and windows to the house were locked and curtains were drawn shut before both went upstairs. As soon as Lexie opened her bedroom door, the chime from her computer filled the silence. Out of curiosity, Dylan entered after her and stood behind her as she sat down and opened the notification.

It was a response to her post on Stumblr.

"I wasn't expecting a reply so soon," she muttered as she clicked the link to the comment. They both waited as the browser opened to the post and Lexie scrolled down to read the comment. It was from a user named Inedible Banana.

InediBLeBaNAnA: I also received one. 

"That's all they said?" Dylan scoffed and Lexie pursed her lips at the blunt and somewhat useless response. She hummed as she pressed the reply button, her fingers poised above the keyboard.

"I guess I'll just ask if they know anymore information on it," Lexie typed in her question and clicked the reply button. "Maybe they'll have responded by the morning."

"Yeah, hopefully with a reply longer than 'Yes'," Dylan shook his head and was about to exit his sisters room before another chime broke the silence. They both turned back to the computer and Lexie refreshed the page, noticing that Inedible Banana had left a reply again.

InediBLeBaNAnA: The person who made it knows me.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Lexie voiced in confusion.

"Let me see," Lex rolled from in front of the desk so that her brother could get at the keyboard. She read his sentence while he typed and nodded her head in approval as he asked for clarification. Before he hit respond, she fixed his mistakes, causing him to roll his eyes.

"No one is worried about grammar right now," he said as she clicked the reply button. She shrugged her shoulders in return, waiting on they person's response to Dylan's question. They waited a couple of minutes, Dylan browsing this social media and Lexie tapping away at the desk. Finally, the chime filled the room again. Lexie refreshed the page once more, both siblings taking in the response. However, they blinked in astonishment at the reply they got.

It wasn't from Inedible Banana.

It was from a moderator on Stumblr, saying that the post had to be disabled due to it breaking guidelines.

"How was it breaking guidelines?!" Lexie refreshed it again, not believing what had happened. "I was only asking about a freaking Pokemon game!"

"I fucking hate Stumblr, here, let me see the computer again." Lexie moved aside, huffing in disbelief as her brother copied and pasted her original post to Readit and Yawho answers instead. "There, hopefully that Banana person will find this and respond to one but I don't think they'll get to it tonight." Lexie sighed as Dylan closed out the browser and yawned.

"You're right," Lexie replied and she took off her jacket and tossed it aside. "Hopefully they'll find it sometime tomorrow."

"Yeah, until then," Dylan poked his sisters forehead and smiled. "Night. We've got an...interesting day tomorrow."

"That we do, goodnight." Dylan shut his sisters door and she changed into pajamas, climbing under the blankets and getting warm. In the other room, Dylan did the same, stripping and tossing his clothes in the corner of his room as he did with other worn outfits. They both sighed, staring up at the ceiling as their thoughts and questions swirled around in their heads.

What would the gym be like tomorrow?

Would their mom stick to her pill at 7am schedule?

What was the purpose of having them play this game?

Slowly, Lexie began to close her eyes, the adrenaline of the day finally draining from her body. Slowly, both siblings were taken into a deep sleep.

Almost an hour after they were dreaming, Lexie's computer screen lit up and a chime filled the room.

* * *

A/N

Question:

What decision would you have made? Would you have continued playing or stopped? Be honest!

I would have honestly kept playing. It's probably a stupid decision but my curiosity would have gotten the best of me. Though, I would also continue with more caution.

Until the next update!


	8. Chapter Seven – Escape

The twins both woke in annoyance as the sound of a weed hacker grew louder and louder as it passed beneath their windows. Dylan groaned and pulled his blanket over his head, trying to smother out the noise while Lexie sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes. She crawled to the side of her bed and pressed her forehead against the window to look outside.

Down below their neighbor, Mr. Riddle, swung the weed hacker back and forth against the side of their home, seeming to be unbothered by the fact that he was no longer in his yard. With a grunt, Lexie opened her window and hung her head outside, letting the summer breeze catch her unkempt hair.

"Mr. Riddle!" she yelled down. The balding man continued to chop away, her words falling on deaf ears. "Mr. Riddle, look up!" Finally, to her relief, the man let go of the trigger on the machine and gazed up at her with a smile, the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes prominent. He fiddled with the wireframes glasses on his face and gave her a wave.

"Good morning, Miss Worth!" he said cheerfully, causing Lexie to smile in return. He had always referred to her as Miss Worth and her brother, Mr. Worth. "You can't look at it, but it has to look at you! What might it be?"

_Oh god, not another riddle...He takes his name too seriously._

"Um...I don't know," Lexie looked back in the house, wishing her brother would enter and save her. "What is it?"

"The sun, my girl!" he waved his hand towards the sky, his face full of happiness. "Is she not lovely today?"

"She's very lovely, but Mr. Riddle," Lexie gave him an apologetic smile before she continued. "Don't you think it's a little too early to be...out?"

"Nonsense!" He laughed, hand on his belly. "You have to wake as early as the birds in order to catch the worm!"

"Right," Lexie laughed softly before gesturing toward the weed hacker. "You know, you don't have to cut our lawn. The yard keeper mom hired comes every Wednesday."

"It's no problem with me at all, young lady!" Mr. Riddle replied, not catching Lexie's hint. "I did this when I had a younger back and stronger knees! It brings me satisfaction." And before she could reply, he started the machine again and continued chopping away at the weeds growing next to the house. Lexie groaned and ducked back into her room, shutting the window and dimming the sound a bit.

She sighed before leaning over and picking up her phone from the side table. As soon as her fingerprint was registered in the device, it lit up, displaying the time to her. She blinked a couple of times before she gasped and jumped from her bed. She opened her door and burst into her brother's room, shaking him violently.

"Dylan! Dylan! Get up!" she said, grabbing his blanket and pulling it from his body. The bare chest of her brother was on full display and he groaned before pulling his pillow over his face to block out the sudden natural light coming from his window. "Dylan, it's already eight!" she grabbed the pillow and removed it, revealing his scrunched disapproving face. "I think mom is back."

"Ugh!" Dylan rubbed his face, still having not opened his eyes yet. He let out another very long exaggerated groan before sighing. "Okay, and..."

"And we already discussed this last night!" She smacked her brother with the pillow, making him flinch from the unseen attack. He grudgingly opened his eyes and glared at his sister. He hadn't forgotten about the plans they made last night but this was a new day. He was tired and it was _way_ too early to be awake during the summer. However, the way his sister was standing over him told him that he had no choice but to get ready. With another groan, he drug his hands over his face again before finally sitting up.

"Fine, is she awake?" he asked as he walked to his dresser and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and a black muscle shirt. Lex pursed her lips, realizing that she hadn't taken the time to actually check if their mother was asleep or up.

"I'll go check," she announced, leaving her brother to change into his clothes. With a silent gulp, she made sure she didn't make too much noise as she crept down the hall from their rooms to the staircase. Thankfully, the fully carpeted stairs masked her foot steps as she slowly went down one by one until she reached the first floor. The weed hacker was a bit more muffled now that Mr. Riddle had moved to the back of the house, away from her mothers room.

The kitchen light and living room light were both off, signaling that her mother was either in the laundry room directly across from the staircase or around the corner in her bedroom. Lexie glanced around before hurrying to the laundry room door and placing her ear against it.

Nothing.

_Please be asleep._

With a sigh of relief, Lexie turned and walked softly passed the staircase, getting closer and closer to her mothers door. At the bottom, she could see light coming from the bottom of it and took a breath to calm her beating heart. As softly as possible, she grabbed the door knob and slowly turned it, cringing as if that'll keep everything silent. She was moving as slow as a snail as she pushed the door open to reveal her mother's curtains drawn back, letting in the natural sunlight. The ceiling fan circulated air throughout the master bedroom and Lexie's eyes were drawn to her mother's sleeping figure underneath the blankets, watching it move up and down. On her night stand, was an empty cup and her bottle of sleeping pills.

_Yes!_ She quietly celebrated as she shut the door as softly as she had opened it and hurried back up the stairs. With a smile, she burst into her brothers room, startling him from the nap he was catching after getting dressed.

"Good news," Lexie watched as he sighed and sat up again. "She's out cold."

"Cool," he lifted his phone and blinked the sleep away. "It's 8:25 right now. If we hurry we can catch the 32-36 bus to Mechanic Street and get off at the Station Apartments. We can walk to the river from there."

"Sounds like a plan," Lexie was about to exit his room before one thought crossed her mind. She hummed and turned back to her brother, who had laid back and tossed his arm over his eyes. "But what if mom wakes up before we're back?"

"We'll just say we went to the library," he replied emotionlessly. "We'll be in that area anyway, so it'll be okay."

"And if she decides to check on the game systems?" Lex asked. This caught her brother's attention and he pursed his lips, deep in thought. After almost a minute, he sat up, his eyes glaring at the floor.

"Let's hide the box up here somewhere," before Lex could ask what he meant, he walked over to the corner of his room and pushed aside the pile of clothes. "We can hide it under here from now on."

"Right, and then she'll rip us a new one looking for it," Lex crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Very nice idea, genius."

"Unless she doesn't have a reason to look for it," Dylan walked over and tapped her forehead, causing her to swat his hand away. "What if the mailman passed by and we gave it to him to 'return it to it's sender' and he accepted?" Lex's eyebrows shot up at her brother's idea. She had to admit, it wasn't bad at all. If they could convince their mother that they were able to send the devices away, they could use them at any time they wanted without fear of getting caught.

"That's...actually really good," Lexie smiled and nodded.

"Let's do this then," Dylan made his way to the staircase while Lexie headed back to her bedroom. He frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

"I need to change!" she said, gesturing to her strawberry pajamas. Dylan rolled his eyes and went downstairs to grab the box. As soon as he was hovering over it, he heard the bedroom door open and listened as his mother's feet dragged against the carpet. He felt his entire body freeze in terror and his heart felt like it was going to fall into his stomach. At the very last second, he dove to the floor and crouched beside the couch.

He didn't dare move as he listened to his mother slowly enter the kitchen, not bothering to cut not the light. The faucet was turned on and water ran down the drain for a few seconds before it was turned off with a squeak. Risking it, he slowly drew his face to the edge of the couch and spotted his mother walking like a zombie back to into the living room; a cup of water in hand. She briefly stopped at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at it as if trying to sense their presence before she sighed sleepily and walked down the hall to her room. He listened as the door opened and shut with a click and he was finally able to let out the air that he didn't know he was holding.

"Fuck my life," he mumbled before inching his way to the box and grabbing it. He took caution going back to the staircase, listening hard in case his mother decided she wanted a snack from the fridge. Finally, after what felt like forever, he hurried up the staircase, being careful not to make too much noise. He gently tapped his sister's door with his foot before entering his room, sitting the box on his bed and opening it.

Once he had his device laid out and ready, his sister entered, sporting a ponytail and running shoes to go with her simple cargo and undershirt outfit.

She looked like a real life Pokemon player.

"Nice outfit, nerd," he commented as she walked over to his bed and set up her device.

"Shut up," she replied. Once they were ready, Dylan hid the box under his pile of dirty clothes before they left his room. He took the initiative to pack and carry the bag that had everything they carried in it the last night and both made their way downstairs.

"Ready?" Dylan asked noticing how his sister kept glancing back into the house, towards their mother's bedroom. She nodded in return, afraid that if she spoke she would alert the judge. As softly as possible, Dylan opened the front door, thankful that Mr. Riddle was no longer using the weed hacker. Once he locked the door behind him, they smiled in excitement.

The next gym was calling their names.

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

Do you think their idea will work out? What would you have done?

Personally, if I weren't writing this story, I think it would work out.

Also, this story will now update every weekend now that it is caught up on here!

Until the next update!


	9. Chapter Eight — Deal

"Ugh, this heat," Dylan complained as they jogged away from their home to Broad Street where the bus would show up any minute. Lexie ignored her brother, her mind on the possibility of their mother already discovering that they were gone without saying anything. She pursed her lips tightly when she also thought about what her mother would say when she would see that the box wasn't there.

_Would she look in our bedrooms? _Lexie glanced down at the device and places, having not bothered to plug in the earbuds just yet. _Hiding it under a pile of clothes sounds smart but dumb at the same time. We're her kids, of course she would know how we think. _

"Stop thinking about it," Lexie blinked and looked at her brother who gave her an almost reassuring smile had it not been for the pained look on his face from running. "We'll be there and back and she won't notice!"

"Yeah..." Lexie huffed as they finally reached the busy street. Just as Lexie was about to suggest they walk to a crosswalk, her brother booked it across the road once he saw an opening. Not wanting to be left behind, she went after here, her heart racing since she didn't get a chance to look both ways. He reached the other side first and she made it a few seconds after him, a car horn blaring behind her as the vehicle sped by. "Are you crazy!?"

"But look," he pointed to the left and Lexie, bent over on her knees, looked in the direction. Idling up the street slowly, was the 32-36 bus that would take them close to their destination. With a hiss, it came to a stop and the door opened with a squeak. Dylan gave his sister a smug look before stepping onto the bus, scanning the bus app on his cell phone that would automatically bill him for the ride. Lexie sighed deeply before she also pulled out her phone, stepped onto the bus, and scanned it. The bus driver, a middle aged woman with black hair and a kind smile, gave them both a smile before shutting the doors and waiting for them to sit down.

Lexie and Dylan went to the back of the bus and sat next to one another, finally able to relax after the great escape. In their hands, the FusionX devices made a chiming sound. They both glanced down and saw what looked like a stone road shaking before a Pokemon that looked like a rock emerged from the ground. It had arms that were balled into fists and clearly looked like it was ready for a fight.

**A wild Geodude has appeared!**

Without hesitation, Dylan immediately went into battle mode and presented his now level nine Torchic. Lexie watched his battle as hers waited for her to confirm it.

"This is going to be tough," Dylan commented when he saw that the Geodude was at Level 10.

"Why?" Lexie asked as she saw her brother make his Torchic use growl. A shower of red covered the geodude and a message popped up on the screen.

**Geodudes attack was lowered!**

"Fire types are super weak against ground and rock types, which is exactly what Geodude is," Dylan and Lexie watched as the Geodude used rock throw, causing Torchic to lose more than half of its HP as it was pelted hard with small rocks. Lexie's eyes widened at the battle as Dylan used a potion to heal his Torchic. It was now back up to maximum health but knowing these games, that wouldn't last very long. As a matter of fact, another hit would cause his Pokemon's health to lower even more! He frowned and reluctantly used scratch, knowing that it wasn't going to have much effect on the Pokemon.

Of course, he was right. Lexie watched closely as Torchic ran forward and gave a light scratch to the ground type Pokemon, who's health barely moved from the attack. Dylan clicked his tongue and they both watched as the Geodude attacked Torchic with rock throw again, bringing its health down to 4 HP.

"Guess, I'm not winning this one," Dylan said as he chose the 'Flee' option. Torchic was returned to its Pokeball and a notification with running shoes appeared on the screen.

**You successfully escaped!**

Dylan sighed and began to heal his Pokemon while Lexie looked back to her own game. She stared at the Geodude, waiting for her to battle it, and sighed. She immediately went for the 'Flee' button before her brother stopped her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. She looked at him in confusion.

"I'm going to run. If you didn't beat it, I'm pretty sure I can't,"

"Oh my god, Lex, you've got so much to learn." Lexie pursed her lips as her brother pulled out his phone and started typing into the browser. Once he found what he was looking for, he showed her his phone and pointed to a chart that had the types of Pokemon and what they were weak and strong against. "See this, Geodude is a ground and rock type, right?" Lexie nodded. "What does it say it's weak against?"

"Grass..." Lexie gasped and pressed the fight button, bringing up Rowlet's moves. She looked the four moves over before one caught her eye. Thanks to the gym battle against Mel, her Rowlet had earned a lot of EXP and was now a level 9, which I turn gave her Pokemon news moves, including on called Leafage. Apparently it was supposed to pelt the foe with leaves and cause immense damage to the rock Pokemon. Lexie wasn't quite sure how that logic held up but she used the move any way.

To her surprise and Dylan's satisfaction, Geodudes health dropped quickly. If she hit it one more time, it would surely faint.

"You should catch it," Dylan commented. "It's basic but the evolved forms are pretty cool."

"What's the evolved forms?" Lexie asked as she watched the Pokemon attack Rowlet. Her Pokemon stood it's ground and she smiled. _I should learn more about the type effectiveness. _

"This is the second stage," Dylan showed her his phone and she took in the more bigger, rounder, and more bulky version of the Geodude. It had also grown another pair of arms. "And this is the final evolution, though it'll only evolve into it if it's traded." He showed his phone again and she smiled at the more armored version which also looked like a dinosaur.

"Traded? So, unless I trade it, it won't evolve into its final form?" Her want for the Pokemon depleted a bit. "What's the point then?"

"Don't worry, you can trade with me and once it evolves, we can trade back. Deal?" Lexie liked that idea.

"Deal!" She opened the bag in the game and chose the option for a Pokeball. Both sibling watched as her character threw the ball and the Geodude got sucked in. Just like the tutorial, it wiggled three times before there was a satisfying 'click' and triumph music began to play.

**You've captured Geodude!**

"Awesome!" Lexie said, excitement in her eyes. Dylan smiled, happy that his sister was no longer in a state of constant worry. However, he himself couldn't help but think about the consequences of their mom discovering the box in his room.

_If it comes down to that, I'll just take the blame_, He thought as he looked out the window of the bus. They were now turning onto Batchelder Road, one stop away from the Station Apartments. _We can do this, it won't take any time at all._

_No problem..._

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

What would you want your second Pokemon to be? You have to choose either a normal, grass, water, ground, and/or rock type and it has to be one that'll easily be found starting your journey!

I would want mine to be a Pidgey because I absolutely loved having one as a beginning Pokemon and the final evolution is so amazing and strong! Did you know a Pidgeot can be 1.5m (4' 11") in height? That's literally as tall as I am in real life (5' even). I would love to have that!

**Also, sorry for the late update. I actually had this chapter completed early but forgot while getting caught up with school work. So, when it came time to upload, I thought I still had to finish it. Surprise, surprise, it was done. Thank you past self!**

Until the next update!


	10. Chapter Nine — Pervert Alert

Dylan watched as the bus took them onto Batchelder Road before turning onto Mechanic Street. Next to him, Lexie was reading up on her new Pokemon, studying its height, weight, abilities, and even its full biology.

"Wow, this thing is only one foot tall but it weights 44 pounds!" she expressed in awe, making her brother chuckle and shake his head. "I wouldn't want to carry it around all day."

"Well, it can use its arms to move around so even if it were real, you wouldn't have to carry it," The bus slowed and stopped with a hiss before the doors opened, revealing the Windsor Station Apartments. The twins made sure they had everything before exiting the bus and starting on their walk to the river trail. "Plus, that's what the Pokeball is for."

"That's true I guess," Lexie watched as her brother took out his glasses and put them on, immediately being placed into the VR world. She kept her glasses off and took pleasure into just watching the screen.

The two walked for what felt like an hour as the sun smothered them in heat. Eventually, Dylan had to take his glasses off thanks to the sweat making it difficult for them to stay placed upon his nose. He battled two more Pokemon — successfully capturing one — before they finally made it close enough to the river. At the same time, their devices chimed with a message.

**Location Registered**

**East Farmington River**

The map on their devices opened, pinpointing a spot off the trail and into the woods, right next to the river.

**Move Player into Position**

Without hesitating, they went off the trail and into the trees, listening as the sound of water became louder and louder. Eventually, they spotted a small bit of dry land in the center of the river. Sitting in a lawn chair with Hawaiian patterned shorts and what looked to be a case of beer next to him, was a man clearly pushing 50 years of age. He had a tanning reflector placed on his lap and his head tilted back to the sky, sunglasses upon his bearded face. Dylan and Lexie glanced at one another before Dylan walked closer to the edge of the bank.

"Excuse me!" Silence as they waited for him to respond. When it seemed like he hadn't heard them, Dylan called out once more. Again, the man didn't budge.

"Um..." Lexie stepped forward beside Dylan. "Excuse me, sir! Are you by any chance...a gym leader?" Hearing herself ask that question out loud made her feel stupid. Even Dylan could feel how uncomfortable that made her. However, from the sound of her voice, the man snorted as if just waking up and tilted his head down to look at them.

"The sweet sound of a young flower," he said as he folded his reflector and placed it next to his chair. He slowly stood up and stretched, his white t-shirt lifting to expose his plump hairy belly. Dylan's face clearly expressed slight disgust but he kept his words to himself. This guy was giving him a weird vibe. "Hmm," Even though he had on sunglasses, Lexie and Dylan knew that he was giving her a once over; a slow one at that. "A beautiful one too."

"All right," Dylan stepped in front of Lexie and glared at the old man. "Can you just answer the question?" Almost instantly, the old man's face dropped into a scowl and he clicked his tongue at Dylan.

"Step aside, boy," he waved his hand to dismiss him. "I only want to speak with that fairy you rudely stepped in front of."

"Oh, that's weird," Lexie whispered as she lightly held onto her brother's shirt. "Why does he want to talk to me?"

"Cause he's probably a perv," Dylan grunted. "Are you a gym leader or not?" At first, the man didn't respond, keeping his arms crossed. Once he saw that Dylan wasn't going to budge, he spat on the ground in annoyance. He reached for his glasses and took them off, revealing dark brown eyes surrounded by stress wrinkles. He gave Dylan a solid glare before answering.

"My name is Charles, leader of the Black Pearl Gym," They both watched as he reached into a bag hanging from his chair and pulled out a FusionX and a cube similar to the one Gym Leader Mel had. He pressed a button on the cube and waited until it glowed green before tossing it into the water that separated him from the twins. Just as before, an opaque holographic screen appeared and flattened.

The battle board.

The familiar chime made both siblings look down at their devices, however, only Lexie's had a notification.

**Gym Leader Charles Has Appeared.**

**Battle**

"Hey, I didn't get the notification!" Dylan told Charles, who promptly ignored him with a smirk. Dylan turned to his sister, who was looking him with an uncomfortable expression. She had already pressed battle and they were now both looking at the next notification.

**Connect to Battle Board?**

**Yes or No**

"Um," Lexie stepped from around her brother, causing Charles to smile. "Why didn't my brother get the option to battle you?"

"I don't battle males," Charles smiled as he gave Dylan a smug look. Dylan scowled, clearly fed up with this man.

"How is that fair?! What could you possibly gain from that?" Dylan argued to which Charles mock shrugged.

"I'm more interested in seeing the lovely females struggle to win, that's all," he answered honestly. Lexie shivered and Dylan was clenching his jaw, angered by the fact that this old guy was getting away with something so...

Sickening!

"You're fucking gross..." Dylan said. Lexie stared between them, unsure on what to do. If Dylan didn't get a chance to battle this gym leader, then he would be one step behind her and they were supposed to do this together.

"Hey," Lexie stepped forward, capturing Charles attention. "If I battle you and win, you have to let my brother battle you too." At this, Charles pursed his lips, stroking his beard in thought. After a few seconds of silence, they watched as a smile grew on his face, wide and creepy.

"Alrighty then," he said, sending the notification prompt to battle to Dylan's FusionX. "However, if you lose, I won't give either of you another chance until you give me something in return." Lexie and Dylan both didn't like where this was headed.

"What do you want, money?" Dylan suggested, trying to give Charles something easy to give up. Unfortunately, Charles shook his head and pointed at Lexie. Her heart raced in fear as he winked at her.

"I just want her to give me a hug," he said, his smile widening even more. "She'll have to cross the water, of course. Poor girl, her clothes will be all wet." They watched his eyes glaze over in slight bliss at the thought of her having to cross the river water just to give him a hug. Lexie knew this man wasn't joking and the request made her want to hug herself for comfort. Dylan, on the other hand, was pissed.

"Fuck this," he grabbed Lexie's hand and tugged her away towards the tree line. "No way is that pervert touching you."

"Wait," Lexie pulled her brother to a stop. He gave her an incredulous look as she looked down at her device. "I'll just win the battle."

"Lexie, although I appreciate what you're trying to do, you must be out of your goddamn mind." Dylan grabbed her shoulder and made her look at him. "You barely know how to play this game and the cost of losing is that stranger putting his _hands_ on you. Let's just go back home and re-route to a different gym."

"But you'll help me, right?" They stared at one another, both thinking about the outcome of having Dylan coach her through it. Of course, the thought of her losing made her feel sick to the stomach but she trusted her brother. "You know more than I do and I don't think having you help me is against the rules."

"Well, yeah, but..." Dylan sighed in frustration, running his hand through his hair. On the small land in the middle of the river, Charles had sat back down, sunglasses on and tanning reflector in lap. He clearly had enough time on his hands. However, his gym wasn't going to be open all day. "Lexie, I don't even know that type of Pokemon he'll pull out! He's clearly a water type user, so your Rowlet should be okay but...there's so many he could have. So many advantages, I don't..."

"You got this!" Lexie smiled and turned back around, pressing Yes on her options screen, much to Dylans shock. Hearing the chime, Charles smiled and stood again, placing down the reflector.

"Let the battle begin."

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

What would you do in this situation?

I'd refuse, take time to go and level up and catch more Pokemon, then come back and battle.

**I was feeling generous and wanted to make up for updating late. So, here's another chapter!**

Until the next update!


	11. Chapter Ten — Gym Two

"You've got a pretty face, girl, but you don't look all that strong." He said with a smile as he tapped a few buttons on his screen. On the battle board, his avatar appeared with the same appearance and gave the twins a thumbs up. Lexie's character had also appeared, in a battle stance with a poke ball in hand, no doubt her Rowlet. "Here, I'll get this over with." Gym Leader Charles avatar pulled out a poke ball and tossed it in the air. With a screech that filled the air, a blue Pokemon with bulging eyes landed on the battle board. It had white hands and a white belly with a black swirl on it.

Lexie's eyes widened at its appearance before she let out a small laugh, much to the gym leader's surprise.

"What's so funny?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

"Sorry, I don't interact with Pokemon much, so seeing some of them is pretty funny." On command, her avatar threw the poke-ball and in a flash of white, her Rowlet appeared with a chirp. Dylan was glaring at Charles from next to his sister, still upset over the entire "deal" that was presented. This guy was up to no good and no matter what, Dylan couldn't let his sister be a target. Even if they both lost, he was already planning on grabbing his sister and running. He just hoped this man wouldn't be desperate enough to stalk them afterwards. Dylan took a good look at the Pokemon Gym Leader Charles had picked.

It was a level 12 Poliwrath and even though Lexie's Rowlet had a type advantage over it, it was still two levels higher, meaning it would have more HP and AP than hers. She needed to choose her moves carefully and quickly to get rid of it.

"Lex," his sister turned from her screen to look at her brother. He could tell from the look on her face that she was nervous and needed help to make the right choices. "That Pokemon he's using is a water _and _a fighting type. Luckily, your Rowlet is resistant to both of them. As long as it doesn't have any ice, poison, or rock moves, you should be able to win against it easily using only your grass type move, nothing else."

"Um," Lexie looked at her screen and pressed fight before nodding to her brother. "Okay, I got this."

"I don't have all day!" Charles said impatiently after taking a seat. He picked up his bottle and took a swig, sighing with content from the taste. Lexie frowned and used the move leafage on the Poliwrath. Thanks to the type advantage, she was able to swiftly knock his HP down to 3. One more hit and his Pokemon would be finished. Gym Leader Charles smiled and both the twins watched as the Poliwrath made a swirling motion with its hands. Dylan cursed under his breathe as Rowlet was put to sleep using Hypnosis.

"What?!" Lexie exclaimed in shock. Charles laughed and tapped more buttons on his device. Poliwrath suddenly lurched forward and with two powerful swings, slapped her Pokemon. She watched in panic as her Rowlet's HP dropped to almost half. She looked down at her device and noticed how she was finally able to choose an option, however, when she went to use leafage again, it simply responded with the sound of snoring. "Dylan, how long will Rowlet be sleeping?"

"It should wake up after his next move," Dylan sighed and shook his head. "You'll have to pass and let him take his hit. He'll most likely use Double Slap again but judging from the first hit, your Pokemon shouldn't faint. Though, it'll be super weak. As long as he doesn't use a potion, this battle should be over quickly." Lexie sighed and nodded as she pressed the option to pass. Just as Dylan predicted, her Rowlet woke up only to get two slaps to the face, causing its HP to drop to 1. She followed Dylan's instructions and used leafage again, causing the Poliwrath to faint and retreat back into its Poke-ball. Lexie let out a breath of relief and Dylan also sighed. A notification popped up on her screen saying that her Rowlet had advanced a level, making it a level 11.

Right after that, another notification popped up, surprising both Lexie and Dylan.

**Rowlet would like to learn the move Astonish.**

**Forget a move to learn Astonish?**

"Astonish?" Lexie clicked on the move, reading about how it was a ghost type move that her Pokemon could learn as long as it forgot one of the current moves it had. Apparently, the move caused a bit of damage with the chance that the opponent may miss a turn. She turned to her brother for guidance and he nodded. She clicked the yes option and read about her current moves before making the decision to forget the move Growl.

**Congratulations!**

**Rowlet forgot the move Growl and learned the move Astonish!**

_Hopefully, the other Pokemon won't give her too much trouble._ Dylan thought as he picked up his device and opened his bag. He scrolled through it, shuffling through the items he collected before finding what he was looking for. _So, if he used TM's on his Pokemon then I guess I'll do the same for mine._ As Dylan used some time to give his Pokemon an advantage, Gym Leader Charles avatar smiled and pulled out another Poke-ball.

"Nice, let's try another one," With a flash, another blue Pokemon with six small study legs dropped to the battle board, a giant lily pad on its back. Lexie chuckled as it let out a small screech through its yellow beak.

"What Pokemon is that?" Lexie mumbled. Dylan glanced up and smiled at the level 10 Lotad, shuffling back and forth on the battle board.

"It's called Lotad, a water and grass type," he explained as he glanced at her screen. His smile grew when he saw that she had the perfect skill to get rid of it in one blow. "And you have the perfect move to use against it," he pointed at her screen to the move that he was referring to. "Lotad is weak to Flying types moves and your Rowlet is a bird." Lexie nodded in understanding before using the option to open her bag and use a potion on her Pokemon. Its HP went from 1 to 21; just enough to end up back in the green area. Unfortunately, this meant that Charles could hit her twice before she would even have a turn to go.

Lotad jumped forward and let out a small, cute growl. Lexie blinked at the move but noticed how her Pokemon's attack dropped by 1. Behind her, she heard Dylan chuckle before the Lotad puffed its cheeks and let out s line of bubbles, aiming for Rowlet. This dropped Rowlet's HP to 18, barely moving the health gauge.

It was now Lexie's turn.

Already knowing what to do, she quickly made her move. On the battle board, Rowlet screeched and ran towards the Lotad. With powerful jerks, the Pokemon pecked at the enemy until it's HP dropped to zero, causing it to disappear back into its poke-ball. Lexie let out a laugh of triumph when she saw the unsatisfied look on Gym Leader Charles face. He let out a sigh and shook his head before releasing his final Pokemon.

"I'm getting sick of that little bird of yours." he grumbled before his avatar tossed out the final Pokemon. "Let's get rid of it." From the poke ball, a small, blue, round spider-like creature with a yellow top appeared on the board. It skittered back and forth on its four legs, making Lexie's skin crawl.

"A level 10 Surskit?" Dylan rubbed his chin before both he and Lexie watched the Pokemon use the yellow top on its head to fling a purple gooey substance at Rowlet. Rowlet was covered in it before its HP gauge dropped by 9. Lexie gasped when she looked at her screen, reading that her Pokemon had been poisoned. "Open your bag." Lexie obeyed and scrolled through it as Dylan stared at her screen intently. She got to the bottom and he shook his head and sighed. "You don't have any items or berries that'll cure the poison. At this rate, Rowlet isn't gonna win. But, you still have a chance to attack. His Pokemon is still weak against flying types moves. But, once you make this move, Rowlet is gonna be hit with the poison again and faint. You understand?"

Lexie nodded and followed his instructions. She commanded her Pokemon to strike Surskit with peck again, watching how its HP dropped down to 5. Just as Dylan said, Rowlet was struck with the poison again and its HP dropped to 0 before being sent back into its poke ball.

"It's a good thing I still have one more Pokemon."

"I wouldn't get too happy." Dylan said, much to Lexie's surprise. "Geodude is extremely weak agaisnt water type moves. One hit from his Pokemon and you may lose this battle. However, Surskit is weak to rock type moves. If you hit his Pokemon first, you'll definitely win."

"Got it," Lexie released her Geodude onto the battle board and from across the bank, she heard the loud laughter of Gym Leader Charles, who had his head tossed back in glee.

"You must _really_ want to lose," he said. Lexie frowned and checked her screen, noticing how she had the first move. With a small smile, she pressed fight and looked for the move she needed. With a small roar, her Pokemon dug into the ground of the battle board and began shoveling up rocks to throw at the Pokemon. Dylan couldn't hold back his smile at the look on the gym leaders face as his final Pokemon fainted and was sent back into its poke-ball.

Lexie had a huge grin on her face as a notification popped up on her screen.

**Congratulations Player Lexie!**

**You've earned the Roaring Waters Badge!**

She and Dylan watched as her trainer card came up and another slot at the bottom of it turned black, signifying her second badge. She also earned 4000 Pokebills, along with a bonus 500 for using a disadvantaged Pokemon.

"Congratulations, girie," Both Dylan and Lexie looked towards Charles who had a bottle in his hand. Before Lexie could process what was happening, she was staring up at the bottle that had been tossed in the air. Out of reflex, Dylan caught it and read the label.

"It's just regular coke," he said before handing it to his little sister. He glared at Gym Leader Charles, who had already taken a seat and was fanning himself. "Hey! We agreed to battle if she won."

"Yeah, yeah, kid, just give me a minute. I'm too old to be standing in this heat," he said, waving away Dylan's statement. Dylan rolled his eyes and took this time to put together his team and strategy. He knew with his Torchic he was at a severe disadvantage but he knew what he needed to do in order to win. He was too competitive to lose...plus...

Dylan glanced at his sister, who was already chugging the drink and using one hand to press buttons on her game.

_I'll be damned if I let this guy stare at her any longer._

* * *

**A/N**

Question:

Do you have any siblings?

I have an older sister. We never really got along when we were younger but we're pretty now cordial now.

Until the next update!

| -. .. .-.. .-.. ..™


End file.
